TWIF: Vol. 41

1. Smile! Art Exhibit Opens in NYC.

Ya know those times when you’re just killing the game and winning all the votes, so you put on your #gameface to make sure everyone else knows how #srs you are about winning, but then some casual observer tweets at you telling you to smile more? And then your girlgang curbstomps the haters with feminist rage and dope art? Well that’s basically what’s goin’ on with the ladies behind the scenes of “Smile!”--an art show in NYC opening this week that features a bunch of artists who are tired of being told to smile more while out in public. This all-female show curated by Jenny Mushkin Goldman promises feminist angst at its most funky and fierce, while reminding audiences that, uhh, women are actually worth more than just our physical appearances, and if we wanna smile, then we will. If we don’t, we’ll make some righteous art and show the haters what it means to be powerful.

2. Nicki Minaj named to TIME 100 'Most Influential.'

This week, TIME released its list of 100 most influential folks of 2016 so far, and, while some of the faces were questionable, others had us cheering out the door and all the way home. Nicki Minaj was one of those faces, and her video feature produced by the magazine only served to solidify our love for the performer, feminist, and all-around individual even deeper. Nicki spoke about her conviction for protecting her individuality and for asserting her leadership qualities, and about the importance for women to demand fair compensation for the amazing work that we do--aaaaand about how much love she has for Beyoncé, which, as y’all know, automatically puts us in swoon mode. Boy-toy Troy must be so proud.

3. Women-Only Market Somehow Thrives Without Supervision.

Looking for great Mother’s Day excursion ideas? How about a quick trip to Imphal, India for the Mother’s Market!? Dad and brother will have to stay in the car for this one, tho, ‘cause MM just happens to be the world’s largest ladies-only bazaar in the world. Oh helllll yeah, you heard right. No uterus, no shoppy. Piqued your interest yet? The women of this small northeastern Indian city decided that enough was enough with the harassment and the disrespect they were receiving from the local dudes, so they decided to just shut ‘em out. Plain and simple. Well, sorta. Men are technically allowed to shop in the market, but there’s a strict No Dawdling policy, and the women reserve the right to shoo away any guy who’s not playing by the rules. But truthfully, these are rules all the men should know by now considering this market has been run by women for centuries. There are lots of reasons why men are shut out from working in the market, but one of the most compelling is the argument that fellas have historically had every other vocation available to them, while gals have been much more restricted. This women-only market is a guaranteed center of employment for many of Imphal’s badass matriarchs who might otherwise struggle to be hired. Need we explain further??

Twitter: a grammar graveyard situated within a whiney whirlwind of emotions and politics. MMM, WE LOVE IT. And this week, feminist goddess Lindsey Toiaivao made us love it even more with her sticky, icky, all-up-in-yo-face tweets at the world’s loudest orange peel, Trumpster the Dumpster. (Was that too mean? Oops.) In response to his accusation of Hillz whipping out her “Woman Card” to get votes, Toiaivao tweeted&bleeded out all the deliciously gruesome details of her most recent lady curse, at-ing The Donald the whole way through. She also literally called him a “giant human tampon,” so there’s that. Lindsey, we love you so much for this. Also check out that good, good fruit-half motif. Remind you of someone? ;) P.S., for more on the misogyny of this presidential campaign (and some love for Queen B while we're at it), read here!

5. Boston Flies Trans Flag in Solidarity.

Boston, Mass. is appearing wicked quee-ah (“very queer” in regular, human English) this week as Mayor Marty Walsh has declared that the trans flag will fly over city hall (for the first time ever, BTW) until all Bostonians are treated equally under the law. What a lovely symbolic gesture of support to the LGB and trans communities, which have been suffering recently in many different state legislatures! ICYDK, discriminatory bills have been passed or threatened in a handful of states, forcing transgender-identified individuals to use the public restrooms that correspond with the gender they were assigned at birth--a practice that is altogether purdy dehumanizing. Massachusetts is one of the states where this debate is taking place. The thing is, there’s lots o’ controversy about whether it’s dangerous to let trans folks into their preferred bathrooms (newsflash: it isn’t), but also there’s the concern (this one with some *actual* legitimacy) that awful cisgendered creeps will use public restroom equality laws as excuses to enter women’s bathrooms and commit assault. Violence against cis women is real, violence against trans people is real, but at the end of the day, we’re happy to see Boston flappin’ around in favor of equality.

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